FDD sponsors educational opportunities for mid-career U.S. national security professionals. Alumni of these programs are not FDD employees and join FDD’s National Security Network (NSN).
National Security Network Participant
FDD’s National Security Fellow
2025
National Security Network Participant

Max Richards

Office of U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt

Biography

Last updated: Jan 15, 2025

Max Richards was hired in March 2023 as Sen. Eric Schmitt’s military legislative assistant (MLA), where he advises the senator on cyber and national security issues. With over eight years of experience, Max has worked for then Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, Leader Mitch McConnell, Chairman Frank Lucas, and Sen. Schmitt. In 2019, Max left Capitol Hill to pursue a master’s degree in international security studies with a concentration in cybersecurity policy at a U.S. Army base in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. While pursuing his master’s, Max was selected as a fellow by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and received a scholarship to study foreign policy in Germany. Max resides in Virginia with his wife and their two-year-old daughter. In his spare time, he enjoys travel and various outdoor activities. In August 2024, Max successfully summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Outside of work, Max also serves as a board member of the University of Texas System Bill Archer Center Advisory Board.

Full Bio